Some wordsabout the history of London

London

London is the capital city of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Today it is one of the world’s most important financial and business centres and one of the largest cities in the world.

London is situated on the river Thames. London is a cosmopolitan city. People of different races and nationalities, cultures and religions live there. London itself and its suburbs make up Greater London and its population is about 11 million people. People who live in London are called Londoners.

A great number of places of interest attract attention of tourists from all over the world. It is interesting that cars in London drive on the left side of the street.

London is an international transport point with five international airports (Heathrow is the main one) and a large port.

Some wordsabout the history of London

London is an ancient city. It was founded more than twenty centuries ago. When the Romans began occupy the country it was a small village.

The Romans built London, which they called Londinium. The word "Londinium" is probably Celtic and means "lake fortress". You may be surprised why a lake fortress, because you know that London stands on a river but not on a lake. It is true but during the tide in the sea the waters of the river Thames covered almost the whole territory.The Romans built a fortress on the top of a high hill around the lake.

In the 9th century the Saxon kings began to rebuild the city. They started building of Westminster Abbey.

In the 17th century there were two awful tragedies in London, the Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire in 1666.

The Great Fire happened because of a young baker who left a small bundle of wood near a very hot oven. All buildings were wooden. The houses were burning like paper. In a few hours the fire destroyed 3,000 houses. Fortunately, the wind soon stopped and then heavy rain fell. So London was saved.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 841